Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [52]
He took a seat and set his bottle on the coffee table, noting the shotgun and sword that Brynley had left nearby. What would happen if Marielle touched the shotgun? He didn’t want to find out, so he quickly removed the shells.
She sat at the other end of the couch.
He stashed the empty shotgun under the coffee table. “You should stay away from weapons you doona know how to use.”
“That won’t be problem.” She turned sideways on the couch to face him, curling her bare feet beneath her. “I don’t want anything to do with them.”
He’d suspected she would feel this way. He’d even told Angus that, but it had only led to another argument. Whereas they both agreed that she needed to be kept safe, they had disagreed on how to go about it.
He set the shells on the table and picked up his bottle. “As soon as we find Casimir, we’ll try to defeat him in battle. And since ye’ll be helping us locate him, ye could find yerself in the middle of a verra dangerous situation.”
“I understand.”
He sipped from his bottle. “Angus wanted me to train you in self-defense. I . . . said no.”
He heard her quick intake of air, so he turned toward her. “Doona misunderstand. I do want you to be safe and protected. But I doona want you arriving at a battle scene with a sword in yer hand. The Malcontents have had years, some of them centuries, for their training. A few nights of training would no’ be enough. ’Twould be suicidal for ye to engage in battle.”
She grimaced. “I don’t think I could, even if you wanted me to.”
He swallowed down more blood. “Ye’re putting yerself at great risk in order to help us. Can I ask why?”
“I think the world would be a much safer place without Casimir and his evil companions.” She sighed. “But I can’t pretend that I’m doing this only to protect humans. I’m hoping I’ll be able to prove my worthiness, so the Archangels will let me back into heaven.”
“I see.” It seemed like a good plan, but he needed to keep her alive till she could accomplish her ultimate goal. “What do ye usually do if ye’re in danger?”
“I’m not usually in danger.” She turned her head to gaze out the window. “Before I could always fly away.”
“What about the way ye knocked me down with a blast of air?”
Her gaze remained on the window, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m only allowed to do that in a case of extreme emergency.”
“Staying alive counts as an emergency.”
She looked at him and blinked away her tears. “You’re right. I used it to try to stop Zackriel. And again when I thought Darafer would kill you.”
“So ye can control air?”
“All angels can control the elements to a certain degree. And some are more skilled than others. For instance, water. I can make it boil or freeze. I can even make it rain. Some angels can cause the current in a river to flow backwards or—”
“They can part the Red Sea?”
She nodded with the hint of a smile. “Yes. Although something that big requires prior approval and a large coordinated effort. We don’t do that sort of thing very often since it tends to get noticed.”
He snorted. “And fire? Can ye control that?”
She shrugged. “A little. You should see the God Warriors. They’re magnificent. They can wield huge swords of fire and drive chariots of fire.”
They did sound impressive. “Are they likely to help you if ye’re in danger?”
“I—I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped. “They would have before.”
“The lightning I saw in the woods—that was Zackriel manipulating fire?”
She made a face. “He’s very talented at throwing fireballs.”
“He was throwing them at you! I saw the burn marks on yer back.”
She rubbed her forehead. “He was trying to cut my wings off. I refused to stand still, so that’s how I ended up burned—”
“Doona make excuses for him,” Connor growled. “If I ever get my hands on him, he’ll rue the day he was born . . . or created . . . or hatched from a damned egg, I doona know. I only know he’s a bastard.”
Her mouth twitched.
“ ’Tis no’ amusing.”
She smiled. “I can’t help it. There’s something